On Intent

by

“Intent” is a word that comes up a lot in meditation, mysticism, magic, and psychology. In my recent meditative work, I’ve come to understand the importance of intent in our works and in psychological health. Thus it’s my intent to discuss it.

In my breath meditation, the goal is to refine a slow and even breath, mind ever on breath. If you’ve ever tried to meditate, or maintain other spiritual or magical practices, you know how the mind can wander. When your mind wanders it doesn’t respond to force very well because it’s trying to force itself, putting you in the psycho-spiritual version of “stop hitting yourself.”

An important breakthrough for me in meditation was the idea of “firm” intent and “gentle” intent, thanks to Taoist Immortal Sun Bu-Er and translator Chen Yingning. These two intents worked together as one, providing tuned breath (firm intent) and attention (gentle intent). The mind set the goal of tuning breath, and as it tuned, it simply stayed with it – it set the goal and stayed there loyalty with the breath.

This helped me appreciate the value of intent, as well as its value in our various metaphysical practices.

To set the intent for something is not forcing it so much as setting a goal and sticking with the actions that surround that goal. It’s not force, it’s almost a kind of loyalty to the very action aroused by setting the goal. It’s partnership.

This made meditation easier for me. I want to tune breath so I just stay with breath as I tune it, the loyal partnership is gentle intent, the activity firm intent. I do not turn my intent against myself or force it, but more navigate a path forward towards my goal. Intent is not “forcing it until it happens” but more “eyes on the road as you go forward.”

I found this also made forms of walking meditation easier and have tried short bursts of “being present” – set a goal to walk to an area during a hike or to just work on preparing a meal, etc. Each small bit of wholehearted attention, setting intent and doing with the intent as beacon was a small meditation.

There were of course the usual benefits of meditation, but I was also glad to just understand how my mind worked a bit better and of course a better understanding of intent.

When I see intent mentioned in psychological and spiritual practices I “get it” much better now. Intent in prayer, in ritual, etc. is all about setting that goal and just doing whatever gets to the goal. It’s also unifying as your intent and action are in partnership, which doubtlessly has psychological and perhaps even metaphysical benefits.

I look forward to hearing from my readers on their own experiences.

–Xenofact

The Lonely Hyperpolitics of Conspiracy Culture

by

Anton Jäger’s book Hyperpolitics is another one of those I’ve read, recommended, and will be insufferable about for quite some time. But at least that insufferability helps me gain useful insights to navigate the world.

To re-iterate Jäger’s theories, you can measure politics on scale of Politicization (how political are things) and Institutionalization (people are engaged with clubs, churches, unions, etc.). We had both Politicization and Institutionalization that built our world, an age of Mass Politics from clubs to unions. Our current age is one of Hyperpolitics, everything is political but we’re disconnected and our political movements aren’t that social.

One of the things that Jäger’s work keep has me thinking about is his model that our age of Hyperpolitics seems so lonely. Hyperpolitics, in Jäger’s theory, is an age of outbursts and politics but things don’t get better as there’s no building of institutions that bring such progress. We’re in an age of tantrum and outburst but not connecting – and I think that explains Conspiracy Culture.

Back in the heady days where Qanon began, it seemed to be all-encompassing. People would decode drops from the mysterious Q figure (who clearly was several figures, and hijacked by the owners of the website he was on). Conspiracy theories spun out and were drawn in, creating ever-expanding narratives. People made videos and guides and websites, and so on. Qanon was a project, it was a lifestyle, it was a club.

It may seem like a unique pathology but anyone familiar with cults, conspiracy grifts, and various extreme movements would recognize what was going on. Qanon (and its like) provided community and a sense of belonging. Whatever was going on, here were people that were on your side, and you could yes-and your way into any group or conversation. You could also feel effective as it did change politics, albeit in ways that had no payoff as people discovered.

Looking at that through the lens of Hyperpolitics makes it seem sadly obvious and understandable.

How many people attach themselves to conspiracy theories, join high-control groups, or create their own conspiracy fandom out of a sense of loneliness and frustration? In an age where everything is political and there’s no institutionalization, such groups can soothe not just a sense of powerlessness or need for understanding, but a need for connection. In the past someone might join a club or a union, or already belong to one and have a sense of belonging – but in the 21st century it’s easier to go online and go down a rabbit hole.

I wonder how much of Conspiracy Culture, especially in the US, is people who feel not just powerless or isolated and lonely. They get an illusion of the Mass Politics of Jager, a sense of community and of institution. They are still isolated and manipulated, caught up in Hyperpolitics, but the feel is there.

This is something that sits uncomfortably with me. I know that there’s so many grifters in Conspiracy Culture, that in the influencer age, inauthentic engagement is far too common. But that doesn’t mean people still aren’t lonely – and still aren’t take advantage of by people who are grifters AND lonely.

Of course in an age of Hyperpolitics, this might lead to a self-amplifying loop. People in a politicized age with no sense of institution and belonging create an institution – that just reinforces the extremes of the age. People seek camaraderie and change and just end up joining groups who are focused on further amplifying the political situation with their theories. Conspiracy Community may be community, but it’s still about the conspiracy, and that means the community keeps amplifying it, keeping up the Hyperpolitics.

Of course nothing much changes, because we know there are people ready to tap the conspiracy community for money and influence, but not to help the people within. It’s up to us to rebuild a modern form of mass politics, of politics and social institutions, because the future is otherwise a bleak string of tantrums.

–Xenofact

The Dialog

by

In my readings on Taoism, I often find them relaxing. Beautiful metaphors about flowing water. Kind advice on remaining calm. Plenty of (mostly) gentle humor. Above and below it all is the idea of the Tao, of the ever inflowing and outflowing reality.

Then of course real life hits. The car needs work. You’re having a panic attack over a sore tooth. A co-worker has suddenly quit and you get their work. All of American politics since 2016. The above lovely words are just words when stress kicks in – unless you put them into practices.

Yet at the same time, that idea of the Tao sits there. When we meditate or engage in internal alchemy or psychological investigation, there’s something there. We work to develop and refine ourselves, the walls come down just enough we’re there with something greater.

In my readings and meditations – and coping with stress – I found a concept that helps me better connect with the world, with the Tao, that I call The Dialog.

When speculating on a stressful situation, something stuck in my mind – that the situation was really a dialog. Yes, there were potential concerns, but those concerns prompted adjustment. In fact the concerns led to the very changes that would mitigate the concerns. It wasn’t a conflict, it was a harmony, like a discussion among people.

The more I thought about this I saw how much of life was a dialog, a constant interplay of information, a conversation. Driving a car. Adjusting your diet. Moderating difficult work situations. Talking people down – or talking people up. We’re always navigating.

Even we ourselves are a dialog. This idea adapts to that idea. This experience leads to new discoveries and adjustments. We’re not who we once were – because we’re a conversation. That conversation might be an annoying passive aggressive argument, but we can change the kind of conversation.

Thinking of life, even in stressful situations, as a dialog helped me feel more connected to life – and more alive. I was always in a dialog with life, with my life, with my environment. I was always adapting, always changing, never solid, just alive.

This also helped me understand the ever-elusive Tao of Taoism better. You can’t grasp it you, you can’t point at it, you can’t speak of it. But when you realize life is an ever-swirling dialog you’re a bit closer to it because you’re not trying to define, you’re being.

Life whirls and circles, alters and changes. You can’t settle on any one point or place and say “this is it” – and the concept of The Dialog helps you not settle down or try to claim one part of the world as permanent.

I’ve taken to asking myself each day how I’ve used this concept of The Dialog and it’s been extremely helpful. It’s a nice way to review how I use a useful idea – or when I could have.

So next time you feel off, feel a little “too solid,” feel a little conflicted, think of how you’re in a Dialog. You’re learning and reacting, the world changes and react, and if you’re open, you can navigate to places you want to go (even if you may not know you want to). You might not just feel better, but you may feel a little more connected to everything.

–Xenofact